You may be looked at oddly however the concept of race that has been developed today did not exist then. Also, there was significant contact with the Far East and Rome which cause great consternation from the conservative elite as the rampant purchase of luxury goods was seen as decadent. Pliny the Elder remarked about the sheer volume of Roman gold sent to India and China to purchase silk and spices.

As for slavery, in general, slavery in Roman society was composed captured soldiers (or captured civilians as in the case of the Third Macedonian War). The concept of Chattel slavery, and the idea that someone would be enslaved on the streets of Rome, is not something that would happen often if at all.